The Purple Flame
Page 9
CHAPTER IX PATSY SOLVES A PROBLEM
Turning from the group of strange natives, Patsy lead Terogloona into theigloo and drawing his grandfatherly head down close to hers, shewhispered:
"Terogloona, are reindeer much afraid of native wolf dogs?"
"_Eh-eh!_" Terogloona nodded his head.
"Very, very, very much afraid of them?" Patsy insisted.
Terogloona's head nodded vigorously.
"Then," said Patsy, with a twinkle in her eye, "if we let one wolfdogloose, and he went toward Bill Scarberry's herd, would they run away?"
"_Eh-eh._ Mebby. Want kill reindeer, that dog. Mebby kill one, two,three--many. Sometimes that way, wolfdogs."
Terogloona's horror of the thing she had proposed, shone in his eyes.Many years he had been a herder of reindeer. Many a dog had he killed tosave a reindeer. His love for dogs was strong. His love for reindeer wasstronger. To deliberately turn a wolfdog loose to prey upon a herd ofreindeer, even an enemy's herd, was unthinkable.
Patsy, having read his thoughts, threw back her head and laughed.
"We won't do that," she said soberly, "but, Terogloona, if each one ofthose strange Eskimo people should take a dog by his draw rope, and thenthey all should walk toward that old cheat's herd, what would happen?"
A sudden gleam stole into the aged herder's eyes. He was beginning tocatch her meaning. The deer were upon forbidden ground. She was finding away to drive them back to the place where they belonged.
"They would go away very fast," he said quickly.
"And would these Eskimos do that; would they do it for two sacks offlour; two cans of baking-powder; two slabs of bacon and some sugar?"asked Patsy breathlessly.
"For all that," said Terogloona, staring at her, "they would do anything;anything you say."
"Go tell them they shall have it," said Patsy. "Tell them they must driveScarberry's herd back to the Come-saw River valley where they belong, andthat they may take their flour, sugar and other things along."
The Eskimos crowded about Terogloona, listened to him in silence until hehad finished, then burst into a chorus of "_Eh-eh! Ke! Ke Kullemuk,Ke-Ke_," which Patsy rightfully interpreted as meaning that they wereready for the enterprise and that Terogloona was to bring on the reward.
It was a strange line of march that formed soon after. Seven Eskimos,each holding to a strap, at the other end of which a native dog rearedand ki-yi'ed, spread out in a broad line, and followed by a sled drawn bythe four remaining dogs, they started toward Scarberry's herd.
As they came closer to the herd, the leaders of the antlered throngtossed their heads and whistled. As they came still closer there soundedthe rattle of antler upon antler as the herd backed in upon itself.
The solitary herder, who had been left to watch the herd, looked at theon-coming members of his own race and then shouted at them angrily.
The Eskimos with the dogs marched straight ahead, appearing not to hearthe shouts of the angry herder. In less time than it takes to tell it theherd was in full stampede. In vain were the shouts of Scarberry'sherders. In vain their herd dogs sought to stem the flight. The reindeerhad scented their ancient foe; they had heard his loud ki-yi. They wereheaded for their home range, and would not pause until they had reachedit. Marian's hills and tundra were not for them.
As for Scarberry's herders, they might remain where they were or follow.They chose to follow. An hour later, with a sigh of satisfaction, Patsysaw them driving their sled deer over the broad trail of the herd thathad vanished.
"Will they come back?" she asked Terogloona.
"Mebby yes; mebby no," said Terogloona. "Can't tell."
For a moment he was silent; then with a queer look on his face he said:
"One thing I am much afraid of."
"What is that?" asked Patsy.
"Mebby not come," said Terogloona, looking as if he was sorry he hadspoken.
That was all he would say and Patsy felt a bit uneasy over his remark.Nevertheless, she could not help having a feeling of pride in her firstday's work as manager of the herd. Two serious problems had arisen andshe had matched them against each other with the result that both hadvanished. She had succeeded in getting rid of the unwelcome visitors andBill Scarberry's great herd. She had a right to feel a bit proud.
"10 - 10 = 0," she marked on the floor with a bit of charcoal. "We areminus a few eatables but we can spare them all right. Besides, it's realsatisfying to know that you've given several hungry people an opportunityto earn a week's provisions."
Had she known the full and final effect of that week's provisions, shemight have experienced some moments of uncomfortable thinking. Lackingthat knowledge, she smiled as she busied herself with preparing a belatedbreakfast for Terogloona and herself.